Today marked the last day of classes for my freshman year. It was definitely an interesting one, and a lot happened: in the world, in my classes, and in the dorm game room. Today, I just wanted to compile some of my best clips from my first year with the Daily Northwestern. I most closely covered men’s basketball, but had a lot of great experiences covering all around the athletic fields of Northwestern.
First Article
Volleyball: Northwestern looks to get back on track against No. 17 Purdue, Indiana
Best of Cross Country Coverage
In season’s ‘most important race of the season,’ NU stumbles to bottom of standings
Cross country was a fun intro beat given my background in the sport, and this one was the highlight for me. The Cats didn’t perform well, but Coach Jill Miller was candid in her assessment of her team’s performance in the most important meet of the season.
First Basketball Gamer
Men’s Basketball: Scoring drought dooms Northwestern as Wildcats fall to Radford
Best Basketball Gamers
Men’s Basketball: Boo Buie takes another step in injury comeback against Ohio State
Men’s Basketball: Purdue steals win in final seconds, hands Northwestern 10th Big Ten loss
Rapid Recap: Northwestern 80, No. 20 Penn State 69
Covering men’s basketball was a fantastic experience: I enjoyed going to all of the games, learning about press conferences and dynamics of a sports beat, and finished with a ton of articles (18 in total). For my best ones, I chose one of each of the types of game recaps: a game recap, a sidebar/column, and a rapid recap. The Penn State win was monumental in that it was Senior Night and the only win against a ranked team (meaning I had to rewrite the whole thing in the last five minutes after having expected the inevitable loss), while Purdue was a great game that came down to the final seconds and ended on a buzzer-beater. I’ve also included my column on the Ohio St. matchup because it was so interesting hearing the perspective of guard Boo Buie on the day of Kobe Bryant’s passing and how the team dealt with that loss on game day.
Men’s Basketball Reflection
A Season Inside: A Winter with Northwestern Basketball
Lacrosse Game Recap (My First Time covering a good NU team)
Lacrosse: Behind Dwyer’s record performance, Cats roll Arizona State
This one was fun to write because Northwestern so rarely won in games I covered, and was also a challenge in that I was learning all of the terminology on the fly. Definitely the most notes that I took at a sporting event.
First Longform Feature
I really enjoyed writing this profile on Abbie Wolf a couple days after the Wildcat women won the Big Ten championship on their home court. Awesome interviews, and probably the piece I was most proud of all year.
Spring Coronavirus Features
Swimming: Wildcats translate competitive mindset to new terrain
Cross Country: Wildcats find “mental escape” in distance training
The sports world was put on hold in the wake of coronavirus, but I loved looking into how these two teams adjusted to the circumstances and instilled their competitive mindset together, no matter the distance.
Riker's Block 